Copy-Cat Coffee—Caffeine free Coffee Substitute

Hey girl, is this recipe legit or am I fooling you with an alluring title? No I promise you this coffee lover simply couldn’t fool herself into liking a coffee substitute that didn’t measure up if I wanted to! That being said, this recipe was the love child of me going on a caffiene cleanse for a couple weeks & an intense love for the taste of coffee. 👐🏽

I ❤️ the TASTE of Coffee ☕️

If you are anything like me, caffeine or not, you enjoy coffee. Tea, just tea (with the exception of Matcha) just doesn’t light up my soul like coffee can. I believe it’s half psychological, 1/2 real addiction on a nuerotransmitter level. But all technicalities aside, I just love coffee but coffee doesn’t love me back. {Update…my body healed from this!!}

Food Sensitivies Can Develope Anytime!

Well, to make things more complicated and juicy, let me just say, we used to have a solid, loving relationship where I could drink basically as much as I wanted and it would do its job. Zamn—no complaints. But believe it or not, our love story didn’t last—but to be fair, neither me nor coffee did anything wrong.

ANTIBIOTICS Screwed me Over!

Unfortunately I developed a sensitivity to it after a round of antibiotics that I wish I didn’t have to take! For those of you who don’t know, anti-biopics, especially broad-spectrum, are infamous for knocking out all your good bacteria leaving your GI vulnerable to all kinds of “new issues” with new food sensitivities being one of the more unlucky symptoms. Annnnnd you guessed it, after just a week of those antibiotics, it was clear that my body no longer loved coffee as I already have a GI condition that makes me even more prone to gut issues! I can compare the feeling of me drinking coffee to a roller coaster drop. For about 30 minutes after drinking coffee I am exhilarated—putting on my seat belt after an hour in line for that ride, going full speed towards the drop—then, I reach the bottom of the drop so suddenly and the ride is over. That’s it. It comes to an abrupt stop and I’m told to GTFO. No, another coffee can’t help me, only a nap 💤 usually has to come in order for me to feel revived from the dead.

Ok dramatic as it may sound, many people experience a similar series of events after drinking coffee. Why? Well, it’s about how well your body can metabolize caffiene 💁🏽‍♀️ But let’s save that for another article...!

But anyways, I have since been a matcha girl but still crave that coffee taste many days and especially so when I go on my caffeine cleanses. More about those here.

The great thing about this recipe, aside from it being as close to coffee tasting as will allow without any actual coffee, is that it’s actually energizing 😏💃🏽 Thanks to a little thing called ginseng 🙌🏽 An adaptogenic root that’s been used for centuries in Chinese culture.

Large splash of unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice—I prefer Flax by Good Karma or Oatly.

Directions:

1) Use a water kettle, the stove or your microwave to heat up enough water for a cup of tea (I use the microwave honestly 😅)

2) Steep tea bag for 5 minutes, swirling it around a few times.

3) Pour in 1-2 packets of ginseng into mug & stir. I usually use just 1 because ginseng effects me pretty easily, but I’m hypersensitive, so 2 packets of this brand may be more suitable for you!

4) Splash in your milk of choice and stir.

5) Drink hot, as is, or pour over ice for an iced latte!

Let me just reiterate that, giirrrl, this is not coffee!! So, don’t go into thinking that it will taste EXACTLY like coffee or give you the jolt that coffee does. I always like to go into trying new things with 0 expectations so that I am not biased when judging it for what it is 😌

That being said, when I first made this, I was honestly surprised by how much it tastes like coffee and the nice little boost I felt from the ginseng. One side quality I love about ginseng is that it has the ability to lift your mood for hours. I forgot about this when I first made this and wondered why I was unusually calm & happy through the afternoon...OH! It’s the ginseng 😅🤗

Nowadays this is my go-to when I crave that rich coffee taste, but can’t justify the side effects it gives me. Another great thing about it is that I can have it at night when I’m reading or studying without risking insomnia by leaving out the energizing ginseng 💁🏽‍♀️But, interestingly enough, it often keeps me alert as I study 📖 which I attribute to the placebo effect—I think I’m drinking coffee, therefore I feel energized? 🤣 whatever works honestly...!

So whether you are trying to cut down on coffee because of side-effects it gives you or just because you dont want to be as reliant on the stuff, give this recipe a go and let me know what you think!